28 Jan 2026

Lightweight Deflectometer (LWD) Evaluation of Low Volume Road Structural Deterioration Under Military Traffic Loads

Abstract: In a combat zone, military vehicles may not have the benefit of traveling on well-constructed pavements, necessitating the use of low volume roads (LVR) to transport personnel and cargo. Military vehicles can cause rapid structural damage to LVRs that are not designed to withstand increased traffic loads. Currently, rapid pavement infrastructure assessment techniques for military personnel are based on qualitative visual inspections which do not provide estimates for structural capacity of the pavement. The objective of this project was to determine whether the lightweight deflectometer (LWD) can be used as a structural evaluation tool for LVRs in contingency operations. This study explored the capability of LWD equipment in evaluating factors that influence flexible pavement structural capacity: load-induced deterioration, soil moisture, and asphalt temperature. Falling-weight-deflectometer (FWD) and LWD tests were performed to measure pavement structural condition. The LWD was shown to be applicable for LVRs experiencing military traffic. The LWD is portable, simple to use, and more suitable than the FWD for LVRs when high rut depths are permitted. LWD data trended similarly to FWD data and therefore can be recommended as an alternate to the FWD in assessing the structural condition of LVRs for contingency planning.

27 Jan 2026

Procedure for Determining the Thermal Properties of Asphalt Binder

Purpose: This technical note documents a testing procedure developed and used by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to measure the thermal properties of asphalt binder. While these properties can be measured using specialized precision equipment that is unavailable in most asphalt testing laboratories, no standardized test methods exist to determine the thermal properties of asphalt binder. The test method described herein employs user-friendly equipment to measure the thermal properties of interest. The repeatability of the test procedure was evaluated on samples of asphalt binder blended with varying amounts of graphite and was found to be acceptable.

27 Jan 2026

Evaluation of European Rapid-Setting Concrete Products for Airfield Repairs

Abstract: The USAF is assessing European cementitious repair products to certify them for spall and crater repairs on airfield pavements. As part of this ef-fort, the USAF asked the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to evaluate and test three European-manufactured rapid-setting materials at the Silver Flag Exercise Site, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. ERDC evaluated and tested two cementitious products manufactured by Concretum, a company in Switzerland (country code CH), and one product, AC Concrete Rapid Set, from CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation. The product was provided by Korodur International, a German (country code DE) distributor. Rapid pavement repair activities are critical to economically and efficiently sustaining airfield operations with existing pavement infrastructure. Repairing spalls and craters in Portland cement concrete airfield pavements will help lower repair costs from aircraft impact damage and prolong the service life of the pavement, ultimately saving money over its lifespan. Numerous partial-depth spall and full-scale crater repairs were constructed along existing inner and outer slab joints and backfilled with rapid-setting cementitious repair products following manufacturer mixing requirements.

22 Jan 2026

Knowledge Gaps and Education Opportunities on Direct Potable Reuse: Interviews with Customers of a Large, Southwestern United States Water Utility

Abstract: Water scarcity is a global public health threat that has increased urgency in implementing new sustainable practices to protect water supplies, such as the use of direct potable reuse, or “advanced water purification (AWP)". The study objective was to use interviews to characterize knowledge gaps and community outreach strategies to increase successful AWP implementation in an arid city in the southwestern United States. Through partnership with a water utility in an urbanized area of Arizona, 6000 individuals were emailed for invitation to participate in interviews. Interviews were conducted over Zoom and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts underwent inductive thematic analysis. Twenty-two individuals participated in interviews, and saturation of themes was reached. Five main themes emerged: 1) Conflation of filters with all treatment and the influence of residential technologies, 2) individual-level control over decisions to use advanced purified water, 3) desire for regulation, testing, and transparency about testing results, 4) concerns about specific chemicals, 5) educational resources to strengthen community engagement. Participants expressed lack of knowledge about how water is delivered to their residences by expressing the desire for opting in or out of system-wide treatment approaches.

22 Jan 2026

Carbon Partitioning Effects on Martensitic Phase Transformation of Type 301 Steel Under Various Thermal Processing Conditions

Abstract: Simultaneous improvement of strength and ductility in steels has been a daunting challenge for materials scientists, as these properties are by nature mutually exclusive. One design approach that has the merit to use traditional steel processing technologies is the thermo-mechanical stabilization of the austenitic phase. Owing to its highly symmetric FCC crystal structure, if austenite can be maintained during processing, and then further preserved under mechanical deformation, the final microstructure can solve the Pareto design problem where the high strength does not compromise the ability of the material to resist strain localization/incompatibility. The thermomechanical stability of austenite is achieved through compositional modification of the phase, thereby making the control of the elemental partitioning mechanism between existing phases during manufacturing as the main design metric. In this work, we have developed a phase field framework to model the partitioning mechanism of one of the cheapest austenite stabilizers, carbon, in a 301 stainless steel grade. The model uses a coupled framework between thermomechanical and latent heat effects to capture carbon partitioning during martensite nucleation, propagation, and growth kinetics as well as austenite stability and distribution during and after various heat treatment routines. Various microstructures were simulated for the quench state only as well as quench-and-temper heat treatment routines. The resulting microstructure and carbon distribution shed light on various evolutionary effects such as carbon segregation, grain boundary effects, stable martensite morphology, austenite distribution, and phase fraction. In particular, the model was able to reproduce the evolution of carbon-depleted martensite zones and carbon-enriched austenite regions as well as carbon distribution similar to experimental observation at austenite–martensite interfaces.

22 Jan 2026

Guideposts and Guardrails for Biodiversity Accounting in the 21st Century

Abstract: The new Kunming-Montreal Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) calls for transformative change to integrate biodiversity and conservation goals into decision-making across public and private sectors. As a result, biodiversity accounting approaches, which reduce the multifaceted complexity of nature to quantitative metrics for practical applications, are proliferating rapidly. These approaches will be essential for implementing growing practices like nature-based solutions, corporate biodiversity stewardship, no net loss policies, and sustainable infrastructure development. In this perspectives article, we identify ten considerations for biodiversity accounting to ground ongoing discourse in sound ecological science and to better integrate biodiversity into societal decision-making. These considerations pertain to three processes within biodiversity accounting: (1) selecting biodiversity targets, facets, indicators, and metrics, (2) tool and framework design, and (3) implementation. For each consideration, we highlight desirable attributes or practices, which we call “guideposts”, and cautionary notes demarcating problems to be avoided, or “guardrails”. These help to delineate the safe design space for creators and users of biodiversity accounting systems to avoid unintended consequences and reduce risks of failing to achieve conservation objectives via misuse or ineffective approaches. Major considerations include the need for careful disclosure of effort and statistical uncertainty, interoperability and flexibility of frameworks, careful justification and explanation of selected facets, metrics, and indicators, and attention to local social and ecological context. Consideration of these guideposts and guardrails could help avoid unintended consequences like accelerated biodiversity loss and exacerbated environmental injustice while providing a practical basis for achieving the sustainable futures envisioned in the GBF.

22 Jan 2026

Assessing Longer-Term Effectiveness of Forest Management Guidelines on Breeding Habitat for Cerulean Warblers

Abstract: Widespread clear-cutting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and subsequent regrowth has resulted in homogenous, closed-canopy forest structure across much of eastern deciduous forests in temperate North America. Forest management prescriptions designed to diversify stand structure have been increasingly applied with the goal of improving breeding habitat for declining species that require heterogenous forest structure, including Cerulean Warblers (“ceruleans”; Setophaga cerulea). Although a few studies have documented positive short-term (1–4 years post-treatment) responses of ceruleans to forest management prescriptions in the Appalachian Mountains region, longer-term responses have yet to be assessed. In 2019–2020, we followed the same spot-mapping methods as used previously (2005–2006 pre-harvest and 2007–2010 post-harvest) and compared territory density with previous estimates at each of 4 treatment levels (reduced basal area and overstory canopy by 0–75 %) across four forest stands on study sites in Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio (n = 12 stands total) that had exhibited short-term positive density responses. Ceruleans did not exhibit consistently positive longer-term responses compared with pre-treatment densities when all stands were analyzed together. Compared with pre- treatment surveys, after 13–14 years post-harvest we documented density decreases of 1.0–3.1 territories per 10 ha at 5/9 stands, and positive responses of 1.8–2.2 territories per 10 ha at 3/9 treated stands. Over this period, midstory cover changed significantly (increased) during the 10 years since these stands were last surveyed. Thus, sustaining the short-term (1–4 year) positive response of cerulean warbler territory density to timber harvest may require periodic follow-up treatments that reduce the development of a dense midstory; we recommend that this hypothesis, along with the methods to achieve these conditions, should be tested.

22 Jan 2026

Exopolysaccharides from Rhizobium Tropici Modified the Surface Characteristics of a Mississippi River Levee Soil Clay and its Bulk Soil Properties

Abstract: Global climate change has led to the increased frequency of extreme flooding events and heightened the vulnerability of river levees to flood related damage. One promising approach to enhancing the sustainability of levee stabilization is the use of eco-friendly, biologically produced soil additives as alternatives to conventional materials for erosion control. This study investigates the effects of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Rhizobium tropici on the physical and engineering properties of clayey soil from a Mississippi River levee. Specifically, the study examines how EPS affects particle size, surface charge, surface area, and key bulk soil properties, including Atterberg limits, compaction behavior, and hydraulic conductivity. Soil samples were collected from a levee embankment located in south of Vidalia LA, an area historically prone to slough slides due to highly plastic nature of its floodplain clay soils. X-ray Power Diffraction was used to characterize the mineralogy of soil clay, EPS and EPS-clay composites. Particle size distribution and Zeta potentials measurements were performed on EPS and EPS-amended clays. Engineering test included Atterberg limit determinations (liquid and plastic limits) and standard compaction tests. The addition of EPS significantly increased the aggregate particle sizes of the levee clay through formation of EPS-clay composites. A strong correlation was observed between mean particle sizes and zeta potential in the composites. EPS also increased the liquid limit and plasticity of the soil while significantly reducing its hydraulic conductivity. Overall, EPS-amended soil demonstrated improved resistance to seepage and erosion, indicating that EPS has the potential to enhance levee soil stability and contribute to more sustainable flood control infrastructure.

21 Jan 2026

Development of Tidal and Surge Forcing in Boussinesq Wave Model FUNWAVE-TVD

PURPOSE: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) documents the development of the tidal and surge-forcing module in the Boussinesq wave model FUNWAVE–Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) for wind-wave simulations, subjected to large-scale boundary forcing conditions. In a series of recent projects undertaken by the Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) of the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), there was a need to model wind waves under time-varying boundary conditions due to tides, storm surges, or strong background flows. The implications on wave runup and overtopping (flooding) around inlets, due to the interaction of tide or surge-driven flows and waves (wave-current interactions), make the need for the development of surge and tide forcing vital to modeling waves with a Boussinesq-type model like FUNWAVE-TVD. Furthermore, strong velocity flows (currents) are not only responsible for depth-limited wave transformation and breaking at inlets but also directly influence sediment transport. Most phase-resolving wave models cannot facilitate these kinds of simulations because the wavemaker cannot generate the phase-resolving wave conditions and low-frequency motions (e.g., tides) at the same time. For example, in FUNWAVE-TVD, the combination of an internal wavemaker and a sponge layer is used to generate wind waves in the shoreward direction while absorbing waves with the sponge layer in the seaward direction behind the wavemaker. However, this type of combined system of wave generation and absorption cannot readily incorporate the external low-frequency forcing into wave generation.

21 Jan 2026

Supporting Urban Sustainability Through Resilient Rail Transit Systems

Abstract: Urban rail transit is vital to supporting urban sustainability across environmental, economic, and social pillars. However, recent extreme weather events, particular flooding, have increasingly disrupted its operations, high-lighting the urgent need to strengthen system resilience. Developing comprehensive resilience assessment methods with results of practical relevance is essential for evaluating the system’s capacity to withstand and recover from such disruptions, using quantifiable impacts across physical, operational, social, and economic dimensions. While resilience and sustainability are often discussed together in the context of climate change, methodologies for integrating sustainability considerations into resilience assessments to develop informed adaptation strategies remain underdeveloped. Drawing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this commentary examines the relationship between resilience and sustainability in the urban rail transit sector under disruptions related to natural disasters and climate change. Following this, it proposes a three-tier network modelling roadmap for assessing the resilience of urban rail transit, illustrating how sustainability concerns can be incorporated into resilience planning. This roadmap progresses from current mainstream topology-based approaches to a state-of-the-art performance-oriented method, and ultimately to a forward-looking vision that integrates socio-demographic considerations and prioritises equity. Positioned at the infrastructure-disaster- society nexus, this commentary advocates embedding a systemic view in transport network modelling to yield actionable resilience strategies that address extreme weather events while promoting urban sustainability.